Another Untethered PostEp
by MelRows
Summary: Another random fan’s view of what happened after Untethered. BA later.


Title: Another Untethered Post-Ep

Author: MelRows

Summary: Another random fan's view of what happened after Untethered. BA later.

Disclaimer: If I owned Law and Order, the mothership would have been put to rest, there would be more crossovers, and Alex and Bobby would figure out a way to be married while still being partners.

Another Untethered Post-Ep

Alex Eames was home alone. Now this wouldn't have been an uncommon scene if it hadn't been for the fact that it was a major holiday. Holidays were the classic Eames family excuse for huge family get-togethers. But this New Year's Eve, Alex really didn't feel like lying to her parents and siblings about how great work was and how Bobby was doing much better since his mother's funeral.

Stranger yet was the woman's not completely sober state. Alex Eames did not often get drunk. She didn't reach for the bottle after Joe's death; shortly after, she had been too preoccupied with her eccentric new partner to dwell on the past. She didn't drink after having to give Nathan away; she got back to work as soon as possible to prevent her partner from accidentally killing what's-her-face. She felt no need to temporarily silence her demons after her kidnapping; Bobby had been there for her through the painful steps of recovery.

But he was definitely not here now and she was definitely plastered.

She was having a hard time believing that it had only been one year since she had been sitting on the same couch wondering if she would have a new partner when she returned to work on Monday and attempting to decide whether or not to call her troubled co-worker. This year had dragged on. She had watched their partnership and friendship on its steady descent. A bit of hope had crawled back into her heart when he let her help him with arrangements for his mother, but her world had been turned upside down with the investigation of Joe's death. But instead of recovering from the ordeal, she had always needed to be on her toes, ready to cover up Bobby's next episode.

And now, her partner, her protector, her friend had done the two things she feared most: he had given up on himself and didn't care if he'd hurt her.

_Two Weeks Earlier_

His large hands felt dead between her two small ones. His usually restless and expressive hands lay limp by his side. They felt dry and cracked. Letting her eyes wonder up to his wrists, she noticed that the deep cuts from the restraints had started to blister and bleed. Good. Something to do. Something she could do for him without him being able to push her away. She grabbed the bandages from the bedside table and began to gently wrap his wrists. As she tended to his wounds, she began to talk to his sleeping form.

"What happened to you, Bobby?" she whispered, "What happened to us…our partnership…our friendship?"

And then she started to cry. And when someone made Alex Eames cry, the person in question was almost always guaranteed a verbal ass-whipping. Detective Robert Goren, first class, was no exception.

"Why can't you accept the fact that I'm not going to leave?! Why won't you let me help you? Why don't you trust me? Not coming to me for support doesn't protect me, it just makes us both miserable!"

She started pacing restlessly while she tried to gather her thoughts.

"Dammit, Bobby! Why can't you let me love you?" she whispered desperately to her partner's still-sleeping figure. She collapsed back into the chair as tears ran down her face. She cried softly into his hospital gown until she calmed down and fell asleep, still holding his limp hand.

Bobby had been released from the hospital two days later. Alex waited anxiously for Bobby to return from his hearing; however, when he returned from the meeting, he apologized for the mark that would be put in her jacket without making eye contact, and then practically ran to the elevator before she could get a word out. She was forced to find out her partner's fate from a very pissed-off-looking Ross. Bobby's three week suspension was going to be a long one.

She had called his phone repeatedly over the following two weeks. When she had gone to his apartment on New Year's Eve morning, she had heard him moving around the house, but he never opened the door during the five minutes of her knocking. She was forced to accept that Bobby simply didn't need, or want, her help. And it was this revelation that had led her to her uncommonly drunk state. She was once again wondering if she would have a new partner when she returned from her break and debating whether or not to call her best friend. It was her liquid courage that made her decide to pick up the phone in one last attempt to save them.


End file.
